Rock and roll is alive, thriving, and in perfectly safe hands. Solar Strides emerge this season with two singles set to reignite the indie-rock anthem eras – the ones that drew a hearty crowd and offered that raw and real escapism the mainstream just couldn’t provide.
Music
Telling the story of divers watches under the sea, Island Of Tears fuses a reggae rhythm with a chorus of voices and flickers of distorted electric guitar.
Though the vast majority of the lyrics deal with regret and negative reflections on life, what really lingers with you is the simplicity of that line about hope – the lasting image of you (hopefully) opening your door. The song leaves you wondering, but it also leaves you with an air of optimism.
Andon and Opensoul collaborate to bring an entrancing bounce of a beat and some bright, energizing melodies on this latest single.
The trick here is the multitude of vocal and brass hooks over a relentless rhythm that just won’t quit. Appealing female vocals and a smart and sassy beat make for a compelling listen.
Freak sets out to be declamatory and certain, with human guitars and a questing vocal performance. There’s something of Simon Le Bon’s melodic choice about the whole affair; a New Romantic sense of panache amidst the grooving to help set the 21st century alight!
Dave’s voice has the right level of gravitas and directness to deliver stories, and a sweet and gentle vibrato that ends phrases with a tidy elan. I’d like to wheel out the phrase ‘labour of love’ to describe the collection at this point. It’s just superb!
The opening moments immediately put the listener at ease – here comes that fine fusion of retro electronica and the sounds of the natural world; here comes the dreamland, the ethereal bliss.
Effectively bridging the gap between pop-rock and lo-fi, almost shoe-gaze-like tones, the single rains down with organic purity, engaging rhythms, and crisp, clean nostalgia.
The opening and title-track from the new Twin Lakes album In The Valley is a softly stunning, acoustic offering – one that quickly engages, energizes, and entrances listeners with its organic folk purity and captivating use of poetic story-telling.
The whole thing is subtly powerful, entrancing for its sense of space and colour, and the heavy contrast between that and the tiredness and melancholy in the lyrics.
Celebrating all manner of aspects from gratitude to relationships to overcoming or learning from mistakes, this EP in full showcases a talented and versatile artist and songwriter, as well as offers a playlist that’s beautifully heartfelt, eclectic, and deeply human.